Archive for March, 2011
Time to count the UK
March 27th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Here in the UK, we conduct a census every 10 years and today is census day. I don’t know why some people make a fuss about the census – it’s not intrusive and it is important for the planning of public services. Also it will give us accurate information on the population of the UK […]
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (1)
March for the Alternative
March 26th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Today Vee and I went on the March For The Alternative in central London, an event organised by the Trades Union Congress to protest at the scale and speed of the cuts in public expenditure being implemented by the Coalition Government. It was a huge and noisy demonstration that was attended by an estimated 250,000. […]
Posted in British current affairs, My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
Now it’s the turn of Syria
March 25th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The revolts in the Arab world over the last couple of months have been truly astonishing and the full implications have yet to be seen. We are witnessing changes as profound as the revolutions in central & eastern Europe in 1989. When I travelled to Syria three weeks ago, there was no evidence of unrest […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Baby Catrin: progress report (6)
March 23rd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The last time I saw my new granddaughter Catrin she was just over five weeks old. Since I’ve been away and her parents have been busy, I haven’t seen her again until today. She is now just over nine weeks old and a very bonny 13 lb. I changed a nappy and later helped with […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
How democratic is the UK and the USA?
March 23rd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just had an e-mail thanking me for my web site examination of the differences between the British and American political systems. The writer, from Norway, asks my opinion on whether one is more democratic than the other. This is such a difficult question to answer. It depends on how one measures the notion of […]
Posted in American current affairs, British current affairs | Comments (2)
How often do you make a personal phone call?
March 23rd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Basically, outside of my family, I don’t make personal phone calls. I prefer to e-mail or text. It seems from this article that I’m not alone.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
I came, I saw, IKEA
March 21st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I must be the only man in Britain who has never been to IKEA in six decades – until now, that is. This morning, my wife dragged me off to the IKEA store on the North Circular Road in London because we need a bookcase for my newly redecorated study. I really didn’t like the […]
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
How to manage your online persona
March 21st, 2011 by Roger Darlington
There’s more about you on the Net than you realise. So should you be worried? This is the subject of my latest column on Internet issues. You can check out the article here.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
Past and present in the Levant
March 20th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
One week after Vee and I returned from a holiday in Syria and Lebanon, I’ve written up a full account of the trip for my web site and you can read it here. The was not our first visit to the Middle East because we have previously been to: Israel – my account here Egypt […]
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
March for the Alternative
March 19th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
If you live in the UK and you’re angry about the scale and speed of the cuts proposed by the Coalition Government, you should be marching in London a week today (Saturday). You’ll find all the details here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)